First international payment for marine ecosystem services: The case of the Banc d’Arguin National Park,Mauritania

This article investigates whether the European Union-Mauritania fisheries agreement, which allocates part of the Europe's financial contribution to the conservation of marine ecosystems located within the Banc d’Arguin National Park, can be regarded as a payment for ecosystem service. A framework for qualification as such payment scheme was established based on an extensive literature review. The criteria identified for the qualification as a payment to ecosystem service pertain to: (1) the definition of the ecosystem service(s) involved; (2) the mechanism involved by the payment; and (3) the nature of the transaction. Interviews with local beneficiaries and subsequent data analysis led to the conclusion that this mechanism could be regarded as a payment to ecosystem service and so, through the European Union-Mauritania Fisheries agreement, the European Union were investing to protect local fish resources that could be exploited by its fishing fleet. This agreement, involving the first International Payment to Ecosystem Service of this kind, marks an important step towards better consideration of marine conservation in international public policy and foreign fishing policy in particular. However, this payment is small when compared to revenues generated through the exploitation of developing countries’ fishing grounds by fishing countries. Nevertheless it opens the door for more detailed applications of payment to ecosystem service schemes to other ecosystems contexts, and can provide a useful alternative source of financing of marine biodiversity conservation.     

Impacts of anthropogenic activities on the Changjiang(Yangtze)estuarine ecosystem(1998–2012)

Estuarine ecosystem has greatly changed in the recent decades due to anthropogenic perturbations in the Changjiang Estuary. Change patterns and impact factors were analyzed based on the continuous data...     

基于生态系统服务的海洋健康评估与调控:以莱州湾为例

近岸海域的生态系统管理,要求对海洋健康进行综合的评估以及对人工调控进行科学的指导,进而促进可持续发展。本文构建了定量化方法,用于评估当前的和近期的基于生态系统服务的海洋健康。以莱州湾为例的研究结果表明,当前的海洋健康指数分值为0.7856(总分为1.0);通过对负面压力进行不同强度的人工调控,得到近期海洋健康预计的变化范围为0.5551到0.8041。具体地说,本文评估得到当前的海洋健康主要表现为文化服务和供给服务基本优秀,而支持服务和调节服务不够良好。若不对持续增长的压力采取有效的调控措施,该近岸海域生态系统会在近期丧失部分支持服务和调节服务;若负面压力被完全控制,该近岸海域生态系统服务的分类等级会得到小幅提升。另外,应进一步加强对生态系统服务尤其是文化服务和调节服务的宣传教育。本文的分析过程和量化结果,为进一步指导人工调控提供了灵活的工具,有助于海岸带区域的生态系统管理。     

山东省滨海湿地生态价值评估

本文依据Google Earth近2年的遥感影像以及2013年的资源3号卫星影像数据,并结合他人前期研究资料,对山东省滨海湿地的分布和类型进行了研究,使用ArcGIS软件测算出滨海湿地总面积约为5 124km2,其中自然湿地占35.23%,人工湿地占64.77%。根据山东省湿地实际状况,以及湿地的地理位置、成因、水文、生物等要素的差异,将山东省滨海湿地划分为十种类型,并在此基础上,针对滨海湿地不同的生态服务功能类型,采取了不同的方法进行初步价值评估。结果表明,山东省滨海湿地生态服务总价值约3 303亿元,约占山东省2013年GDP的6.04%。其中物质生产价值约占总价值的50.70%,其次为环境调节价值,约占48.24%,社会服务价值只占1.06%。这表明,山东省滨海湿地蕴含较高的经济和生态潜力,能带来较高的经济效益和生态效益,但是社会服务功能价值量相对偏低,有待于进一步重视和开发。     

Reef fishes recruited at midwater coral nurseries consume biofouling and reduce cleaning time in Seychelles,Indian Ocean

In coral reef restoration, coral gardening involves rearing coral fragments in underwater nurseries prior to transplantation. These nurseries become fish-aggregating devices and attract biofouling. We hypothesised that: (1) the presence of corals at a nursery is critical to recruit fish assemblages and (2) the recruited fish assemblages control biofouling, reducing person-hours invested in nursery cleaning. Three midwater coral nurseries were deployed at 8?m depth for 27 months within the marine protected area of Cousin Island Special Reserve, Seychelles, Indian Ocean. Each nursery consisted of a 6?m×6?m PVC pipe frame, layered with a recycled 5.5-cm-mesh tuna net. Human cleaning effort was calculated based on daily dive logs. Nursery-associated fish assemblages and behaviour were video-recorded prior to harvesting corals after a 20-month growth period and seven months post-coral harvesting. The density (ind. m–2) of blue-yellow damselfish Pomacentrus caeruleus was 12–16 times higher when corals were present than when corals were absent at the nurseries. Fish assemblages recruited into the nurseries included three trophic levels, from herbivores to omnivores, in six families: Ephippidae, Pomacentridae, Labridae (Scarinae), Gobiidae, Siganidae and Monacanthidae. Higher abundance of large fish (total number of individuals) resulted in 2.75 times less person-hours spent in nursery cleaning. These results have important implications for cost-effective coral reef restoration.     

In vitro screening for endocrine disruptive activity in selected South African harbours and river mouths

Various waterborne anthropogenic contaminants disrupt the endocrine systems of wildlife and humans, targeting reproductive pathways, among others. Very little is known, however, regarding the occurrence of endocrine disruptive activity in South African freshwater ecosystems, and coastal ecosystems have not been studied in this regard. In a first attempt to investigate endocrine disruptive activity in South African coastal waters, surface water samples collected from harbours, river mouths and estuaries in three metropolitan municipalities, eThekwini (which includes Durban), Nelson Mandela (specifically Port Elizabeth Harbour) and City of Cape Town, were screened for (anti) oestrogenicity and (anti)androgenicity using recombinant yeast bioassays. Moreover, levels of the female hormone 17β-(o)estradiol (E2) were determined in all samples, as well as a selection of hydrocarbons in the eThekwini samples. A high proportion of samples collected from eThekwini were oestrogenic, whereas none from Port Elizabeth Harbour and only a single river mouth sampled in the City of Cape Town were oestrogenic. E2 was detected in all the samples tested, but at higher concentrations at the eThekwini and City of Cape Town localities than Port Elizabeth Harbour. In addition, the recombinant yeast assays revealed that anti-androgenicity was widespread, being detected in the majority of samples screened apart from those representing Port Elizabeth Harbour. Conversely, no anti-oestrogenic or androgenic activity was detected. Anti-androgenicity did not associate with hydrocarbon loads, providing evidence that other anti-androgens were responsible for the observed activity. The present data suggest potential reproductive disruption in marine and estuarine fauna inhabiting the eThekwini and City of Cape Town regions.     

基于FastICA算法和MODIS数据的水稻面积提取

以苏、皖、赣三省为研究区域,采用FastICA算法从MODIS数据中提取2010年水稻种植面积,并验证该算法在混合像元分解中的有效性。在对2010年46景8 d合成地表反射率产品数据进行预处理的基础上,结合MODIS土地利用产品和平滑滤波算法,构建耕地类型像元的I_LSW和I_NDV时相变化曲线。依据I_LSW和I_NDV曲线在水稻移栽期前后的变化规律,并根据由各地区水稻I_NDV时相曲线计算得到水稻相似性指数,从MODIS影像中提取水稻像元。采用FastICA算法对潜在水稻像元水稻生长期内的I_NDV时相曲线进行分解,计算每个像元的水稻丰度,绘制水稻丰度图,获取研究区各省水稻分布和种植面积。利用统计年鉴数据和样方资料对FastICA算法提取的水稻面积进行了验证。结果显示:采用水稻相似性曲线有利于提高稻田识别效率,所获取的水稻分布与实际情况吻合;FastICA算法能够分解不同地区水稻I_NDV时相曲线;与统计资料比较,江苏、安徽、江西三省水稻面积的提取精度分别为86.4%、87.9%、51.5%。江西水稻面积提取误差主要出现在地形起伏较大的山区。     

Urbanised beaches of the Ligurian coastal area (NW Mediterranean): A classification based on organic-matter characteristics and hydrolytic enzymatic activities

The beaches of Liguria have been intensively affected by human activities for over a century, transforming nearly the entire coastline from natural to urbanised and significantly upsetting beach ecological properties. The present study aims to investigate 9 Ligurian beaches characterised by different degree of urbanisation, to test if and to what extent the organic-matter (OM) recycling processes can be linked to the human activity. Swash zone sediment, sampled during the spring–summer–autumn period, when the anthropogenic influence is at its maximum due to tourism, was analysed for OM features and recycling processes. Multivariate statistical analyses showed that huge amounts of detrital OM accumulated in the more urbanised sites, where the anthropogenic influence was at its peak, deriving from higher inhabitant number and density, from the presence of crowded roads very near to the swash zone and sewage treatment plants. The presence of torrent outlets on the beaches provided further OM accumulation. Lipids, carbohydrates and degraded autotrophic pigments were the OM fractions mainly responsible of the differentiation, and rather constant, high labile phosphorus contents were found in the more urbanised sites. The high activity values of the hydrolytic enzymes indicate the response of the microbial system to the OM accumulation in the urban sites. However, a decoupling of the trends of some enzymatic activities (namely glucosidase and lipase) and their target OM was observed in the highly urbanised conditions.     

多目标区域地球化学调查:分析测试面临的机遇和挑战

文章简要地回顾了多目标区域地球化学调查与生态地球化学评价的发展历史,以及近年来多目标区域地球化学调查样品测试方法及质量监控方面取得的主要成就。指出随着生态地球化学评价逐渐成为研究的重点和核心,作为关键支撑技术的分析测试面临重大机遇和挑战:一是要求分析测试具有更高的准确度和精密度,以满足区域地球化学编图、环境监测及变化研究的需要,建议以现有54项指标分析测试方法及质量监控体系为基础,进一步提高某些介质及测试指标的分析测试水平;二是要求开发形成能满足多介质分析、多指标测定、经济有效的一整套分析测试方法体系,以适应生态地球化学评价的需要。     

毛乌素沙地南缘固沙灌丛下地表凝结水特征

尽管凝结水在干旱生态系统中所发挥的重要作用已被广泛关注,但对其在固沙灌丛下时空变化特征的研究仍然比较薄弱。为探明固沙灌丛对地表凝结水的影响,在毛乌素沙地南缘沙区选择3种典型固沙灌丛（沙柳Salix psammophila、柠条Caragana korshinskii和油蒿Artemisia ordosica）,以无固沙灌丛影响的裸沙作为对照,用微型蒸渗仪测定了固沙灌丛下不同位置（根部、1/2冠幅和外缘）和不同方向（东、南、西、北）上地表凝结水的形成和蒸发特征。结果表明：（1）与对照相比,固沙灌丛的存在显著降低了地表凝结水量,沙柳、油蒿和柠条灌丛下凝结水量分别降低了29%、32%和33%;(2)不同类型固沙灌丛下地表凝结水量由里向外均呈显著增加的趋势,但不同方向上地表凝结水量差异不显著;（3）固沙灌丛的存在减缓了凝结水的形成和蒸发过程,即凝结水自19:00开始形成,到次日08:00基本结束,至13:00—15:00蒸发殆尽,其形成过程整体上表现出增加—平缓—增加的趋势,柠条和油蒿灌丛下地表凝结水在03:00—05:00甚至有少量蒸发,而蒸发过程呈稳定下降趋势;（4）凝结水的形成过程与空气...